In the operation of public transit services, it is desired to provide one man operated buses or rail cars with passenger-operable door-opening controls at doors of a vehicle remote from the vehicle operator's post. In known arrangements, the vehicle operator has within convenient reach a multi-position electro-pneumatic or electrical controller which enables him to place the electro-pneumatic door operating system of the vehicle in condition for enabling a passenger to open the door through bodily contact or by contact of articles carried by him with switching mechanism preferably mounted on the door. Such doors are commonly constructed in sections which part at the middle with the door-opening switching mechanism mounted along vertical meeting edges of the door sections. In the form herein contemplated, any such door-opening mechanism includes a vertical extending touch bar of which slight movement relative to the door actuates a switch for actvating a door-opening circuit. Normally, the electro-pneumatic door opening system is arranged to operate on a cycle including door-shutting after a small time interval but to start a new cycle whenever the door-opening switching mechanism is engaged provided the controller handle is in the "door-open" position or the door has not returned to a completely closed position.
Objects of the invention are to: provide simple trouble-free touch-bar switching mechanism for activating electro-pneumatically operated door mechanisms of any type of door; to provide such mechanism especially adaptable for mounting on mass transit vehicle doors; to provide the mechanism in a form that is responsive to exterior force applications from any direction including upward or downward; and to provide mechanism of the foregoing objects in accordance with simple design which can be manufactured at relatively low cost within this product field.